Grateful for this courageous voice amidst such massive amounts of silence:
http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2013/11/if-the-top-men-take-over-who-w.php
http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2013/11/judge-for-yourselves.php
http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2013/11/nietzchean-evangelicalism.php
Sadly, celebrity is big business in American Christianity. For example, Christian publishers don’t typically publish the very best books, but the ones by authors who have a large platform. Indeed, platform is one of the buzz words in the industry. And don’t miss that most Christian publishers are an industry not a ministry.
Recently, Mark Driscoll, one of the more popular “young, restless, and Reformed” pastors was on the Janet Mefferd show. Mefferd pressed Driscoll on the issue of plagiarism. Driscoll was not pleased. For the record, I am not sure Driscoll knowingly plagiarized. Motives may not matter for non-Christians, but they matter a lot for Christians.
What did strike me and I found depressing, is how the celebrity culture of American Christianity seems to trump issues of accountability and scrutiny. The well-respected historian and author, Carl Trueman, weighs in with sage insight:
http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2013/11/if-the-top-men-take-over-who-w.php
I IMAGINE MANY READING MY TAGLINE WILL THINK I HAVE LOST MY MIND. PREVIOUS EVIDENCE ALREADY POINTED TO THAT POSSIBILITY, BUT I DIGRESS…
NO, I DO NOT THINK OBAMACARE IS AWESOME BECAUSE NO ONE CAN KNOW FOR SURE HOW IT WILL EXACTLY WORK. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO MAKE DEFINITIVE STATEMENTS ABOUT FUTURE REALITIES BECAUSE EVENTS BY DEFINITION OF BEING IN THE FUTURE REMAIN UNKNOWN. AS OS GUINNESS ONCE TOLD ME, “FUTURISTS MAKE BAD HISTORIANS.”
WHAT I WANT TO DO IS TEST OUR COLLECTIVE ABILITY TO APPLY CHARITY TO THE PRESIDENT’S MOTIVE BEHIND HEALTHCARE FOR ALL AMERICANS.
HERE IS MY QUESTION: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO MAKE YOU A BIT (EVEN A TAD OR SMIDGE WILL DO) MORE WILLING TO CUT THE PRESIDENT SOME SLACK AS TO HIS MOTIVE IN WANTING TO PUSH THROUGH NEW HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION?
I HAVE MY OWN THOUGHTS, BUT WILL WAIT TO FIRST HEAR FROM YOU.
I was exposed a bit to the so-called Jesus Movement of the 60s and 70s. I was a young Christian in the late 70s but well remember the colorful clothes and colorful characters!
Chuck Smith played a big role. In loving tribute, watch what these hundreds of surfers do:
ABOUT FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, I INTERVIEWED AL MOHLER VIA RADIO. AT THE RIPE AGE OF 33 HE ASSUMED LEADERSHIP AT THE FLAGSHIP SOUTHERN BAPTIST SEMINARY. WHAT HAPPENED WAS TRULY HISTORIC. THANKS TO JUSTIN TAYLOR FOR LINK:
Critical insights on leadership: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/what_it_takes_to_win_extreme_l.html
I have posed the following concern to several pastors and New Testament scholars: If you serve as a pastor, it is taken for granted by the apostle Paul that you are also an elder. Ironically, most “Bible” churches have only one or perhaps a few of their pastors on the elder board. I have asked why this is and the common refrain is that people are worried about all the pastors forming some kind of voting bloc. What kind of message does this send about the trustworthiness of the pastors? Not much, I’m afraid.
Further, I have looked at many evangelical church web sites and the vast majority only list the “staff.” It is common to find the elders not even mentioned! Prominently featured are the pastors, but where are the elders? Some list the elders, but give no background while there is lots of ink spilled on the “senior pastor.”
We don’t need Big Kahunas, but pastors!
“As the number of books on leadership skills and strategies increase, the number of available leaders decrease.”
I say this, of course, with my tongue firmly in cheek.
There is a very serious point that must be made: leaders don’t become that way by reading books on steps and strategies or simple formulas for success. Leadership can be messy which is not the sort of thing that is easily reducible to cleverly laid out principles.
What is one quality you respect the most in the best leaders you have seen?
